Homer . Creator or recast poet who gave literary form and unity to some stories, oral and probably also written, that had been circulating in Greece for centuries.
Summary
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- 1 Homer
- 2 Works that were attributed to him
- 3 The Homeric question
- 4 Way in which the poems were written
- 5 Features of society described by Homer
- 6 Influence of the Homeric epic on later Greek literature
- 7 Sources
Homer
Nothing for sure is known about his life. Many cities disputed the honor of being their homeland. There is a tradition that he is blind, but this detail is purely legendary. He was Ionian, it is probable that he was born in Smyrna , lived in Chios and died in Ios. Herodotus supposes that he lived around 850 BC ; no one has disputed this date. They say that Themisto, a local woman, was his mother, and that Euclus prophesied the birth of Homer in these verses:
And then on the coastal Cyprus there will be a great singer, To whom Themisto will give birth in the field, divine among women, A very illustrious singer far from the very rich Salamis. Leaving Cyprus wet and carried by the waves, Singing alone the first the glories of spacious Hellas He will be immortal forever and will not know old age
However, the following epigram is also preserved, attributed to the Hellenistic poet Alcaeus of Mesene , in which Homer protests about his Salaminian origin, and denies that a statue of him was erected in this city and that his father was a certain Demágoras: Not even though the hammer to emerge as Homer of gold made me between flaming rays of Zeus, I am neither will I be salaminius nor will the son of Meles be that of Demagoras; Such Hellas sees it! With another poet try; and my verses you to the Hellenes, Muses and Chios, sing them . Although nothing concrete and certain about Homer was already known at the time of classical Greece , as of the Hellenistic PeriodA series of biographies about him began to emerge, collecting very diverse traditions and often fabulous data. In these stories it was mentioned that before being called Homer he had been called Meles, Melesigenes, Altes or Meón, as well as very diverse data and with numerous variants about his ancestry. There is a tradition in which it is said that the Pythia gave an answer to the Emperor Hadrian about the origin of Homer and his ancestry: You ask me about the ancestry and the homeland of an immortal mermaid. Because of his residence, he is from Italy; Telemachus is his father and the Nestorian Epicast his mother, the one who gave him by far the wisest man of mortals.
He is considered the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey , which together add up to 27,800 verses. The Homeric Hymns and the Batracomiomachy , which were also attributed to him, are later.
Homer’s glory was immense. No poet has been the object of such constant and fervent admiration. About the place where he died, there is a tradition at least from the V century that it occurred on the island of Ios.
Works that were attributed to him
In addition to the Iliad and the Odyssey, other poems were attributed to Homer, such as the comic minor epic Batracomiomaquia (‘The War of the Frogs and the Mice’), the corpus of Homeric hymns, and several other lost or fragmentary works such like Margites . Some ancient authors attributed the complete Epic Cycle to him, which included more poems about the Trojan War as well as epics that recounted the life of Oedipus and wars between the Argives and Thebans. Modern historians, however, tend to agree that the Batracomyomachy, The Margites , the Homeric hymns, and the cyclical poems are later than the Iliad and the Odyssey.
The Homeric question
Greek 50 drachma coin with a ship on the obverse and the effigy of Homer on the reverse ( 1986 ). A series of unknowns raised around the Homeric poems is called the Homeric question. Among the most debated questions are who or who were its authors and how they were elaborated. Researchers generally agree that the Iliad and The Odyssey underwent a process of standardization and refinement from older material in the 8th century BC An important role in this standardization seems to have belonged to the Athenian tyrant Hipparchus , who reformed the recitation of Homeric poetry on the Panateneas festival. Many classicists maintain that this reform involved the making of a written canonical version.
How the poems were written
The way in which the Homeric poems were elaborated and when they could have taken a fixed written form is the subject of debate. Most Classicists agree that regardless of whether there was an individual Homer or not, Homeric poems are the product of an oral Tradition passed down through several generations, which was the collective heritage of many Singer-poets . An analysis of the structure and vocabulary of both works shows that the poems contain regularly repeated phrases, including the repetition of entire verses. Milman Parry and Albert Lord pointed out that such an elaborate oral tradition, alien to current literary cultures, is typical of theEpic poetry in an exclusively oral culture. Parry claimed that the pieces of repetitive language were inherited by the singer-poet from his predecessors and were useful to the poet when composing. Parry called these bits of repetitive language “formulas.” However there are a number of researchers Wolfgang Schadewaldt , Vicenzo di Benedetto , Keith Stanley , Wolfgang Kullmannwho defends that the Homeric poems were originally written in writing. As arguments in favor of this position, they point out the complexity of the structure of these poems, the internal referrals to passages that are located at a considerable distance or the creativity in the use of the formulas. The solution proposed by some authors such as Albert Lord and later by Minna Skafte Jensen is the ” Transcription hypothesis “, in which an illiterate “Homer” dictates his poem to a scribe in the 6th century BC. C. or before. More radical Homerists, such as Gregory Nagy , object that a canonical Text of Homeric poems as “writing” did not exist until the Hellenistic period.
Features of society described by Homer
Homer describes a society based on Leadership ; it is a warlike society in which each region had a supreme authority that is usually hereditary. Each caudillo had a personal entourage made up of people who held a high degree of loyalty. They enjoyed a number of privileges: the best parts in loot distribution and domain ownership. They had only one wife, but they could have numerous concubines, although there is one case in which Homer mentions a Polygamy situation : that of the Trojan king Priam .
Political decisions were discussed in a council formed by the caudillo and the local chiefs and then they were explained in the town assembly. The caudillos also had the function of presiding over the sacrifices offered to the gods. Homer describes a court of law that tried crimes, although sometimes the families of those involved could reach a private agreement that would serve as compensation for the crime committed, even in the case of murder. In foreign relations, hospitality was important, which was a relationship in which caudillos or ambassadors were obliged to offer each other accommodation and assistance when one traveled to the other’s territory. Among the free men mentioned are the thètes or serfs, who were free workers whose survival depended on a meager salary.Artisans , heralds, fortune-tellers or aedos.
The Slavery was also accepted practice in the society described by Homer. Slaves were usually taken between prisoners of war, or on pillage expeditions. Examples of the sale of slaves and of people who were already born slaves are cited. Masters sometimes rewarded their slaves by granting them land or a house. The possibility is cited that a slave could end up becoming the legitimate wife of her master.
As for the ethical Values described, they include duly honoring the gods; respect women, the elderly, beggars and foreign supplicants and not dishonor the corpse of a dead enemy. The Incineration is the funeral use that appears in the Homeric poems. The religion was polytheistic. The gods had anthropomorphic characteristics and decided the fate of mortals. Numerous rites such as sacrifices and prayers were performed to try to enlist their help and protection. Although Iron was known , most of the weapons were Bronze . Homer also describes the use of the war chariot as a means of transport used by warlords during battles.
Influence of the Homeric epic on later Greek literature
The Homeric Epic was so appreciated among the Greeks that it was the teaching tool used among them. In addition, his verses were constantly memorized and repeated even though people were illiterate, which is why they were well known in almost all stages of Greek history from the composition of the poems. The influence it had, due to its importance, on other contemporary or later literary Genres is easily traceable in the Lyric and the Greek Theater .
The link of the lyric to the Epic is evident in themes, influence of “epic” vocabulary (“homerisms”, archaisms preserved by Homer, very technical words about war, etc.), Homeric formulas, traditional epithets , many epic scenes (augmented, changed or satirized to account for the originality of the lyrical poet). The compositions of both genres were sung before an audience, although with different functions: the epic narrated heroic events of the past to the sound of the lyre with a raised and cultured language; the lyric criticized, celebrated, venerated etc. to the sound of the flute or lyre.
In its origins the Epic Verses were composed and sung by the same authors. Over time, the author is separated from the performer. In the epic there is a closed corpus interpreted by a Rapsoda that is limited to putting it into execution. It also happens in the lyric, although there are lyrical “poietés” that compose and insert their names in the works aware of their authorship, so that whoever interprets their poems, talks about them. The author of the epic could compose lyrics, although this is a special circumstance (in the epic there are passages that could well be identified with lyrical monodies mentioned in the manner of the epic). The works of both were recited at banquets or parties. Written poems were set for this. However the Yamboit is a part of the lyric relatively little affected by the epic. It is true that it was recited before the public, but otherwise we could say that the yambo is anti-epic. The themes of the epic often appear totally parodied, their language is not loud at all, but completely contrary and the author manifests himself and gives information about himself: the goal of the yambo is to mock another person and tell realistic stories of characters absolutely antiheroic.
